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Re: I hope JO is taking notes

i should probably just not say anything, but....yeah i'm glad JO is out for this extended period of time. IF we keep playing like this in his abscence, he will HAVE to reevaluate himself.

Of course. I really hope when he comes back he goes back to his great rebounding mode rather then focusing solely on being out on the post holding his hand up. I don't think it will matter anyways because any time you have Scott and Jeff in there at the same time, you get an instant burst of energy and tear up the boards on the offensive and defensive side.

Re: I hope JO is taking notes

Of course. I really hope when he comes back he goes back to his great rebounding mode rather then focusing solely on being out on the post holding his hand up. I don't think it will matter anyways because any time you have Scott and Jeff in there at the same time, you get an instant burst of energy and tear up the boards on the offensive and defensive side.

Starters:
Hulk
JO
Peja
Jack
Tins

Reserve unit:
Pollard
Foster/Cro
Granger
Freddie
Runi/AJ

I think these are the players that are best able to play off of each other.

Skip Bayless:

"Derek Fisher will prove to be a much better NBA head coach than Steve Kerr."

"The Houston Texans will forever regret it if they do not take Johnny Manziel with the No. 1 overall pick. He will haunt them."

Re: I hope JO is taking notes

Also, Jermaine coming off the bench would be the best decision Carlisle could ever make. But I don't think Jermaine would accept that role.

Foster/Pollard really do well on the boards and that in turn establishes the tone for this team. JO would still get starter minutes, but I agree him coming off the bench is what needs to happen. Either that or he can get over himself and his shoe commercial and start to REBOUND.

*removed* Just keep politics and religion completely out of it, please.

Re: I hope JO is taking notes

The Pacers are playing their best ball of the season with both Tinsley AND JO out of the lineup.

I'm not saying that they are not good players...of course they are. But in terms of chemistry and team play they might not be the best thing for the Pacers at this time. I like the team they are putting on the floor right now. I'm not looking forward to seeing it change real soon and messing up a good thing.

On the other hand, if JO would transform from a 20-point 10-rebound player into a 12-point 15-rebound player, I think it would be a very good thing.

Re: I hope JO is taking notes

Instead of being critical of JT and J.O and instead of making the mistake and assuming the Pacers are winning because those two playrers are out (interesting no one is saying the Pacers are winning because Cro is out) here are some reasons why the pacers are winning:

I think right now the coaching staff has really found a great 9 man rotation. More than that the combinations on the floor seem to fit together extremely well.

Peja and Jax with AJ and then Jeff and Scot that unit fits well together. And then the bench, Saras and Fred have always fit together and now Granger and Harrison fit together well. And then alternating Jax and Peja with the second unit.

A few other key points to make about why the Pacers are playing well right now

1) the schedule. Don't underestimate how important it is to have days off between games and time to practice. That is always underrated, but it is so important.

2) The Artest episode is behind the Pacers for good. No more trade rumors. Things are settled

3) Right now the players know when they are going to play and who with, that is huge also.

Re: I hope JO is taking notes

I agree, I noticed that this game. We've finally found something that fits. The starting lineup doesn't have any great players, but they fit together really well. AJ is also finally playing well consistently. Why does he always take half a season to do this?

Our bench is a thing of beuty though. Saras and Fred, Saras and Hulk, they have great chemistry. Danger and Hulk play well together. Several duos that play well together in that bunch.

Re: I hope JO is taking notes

Even Quinn Buckner was hinting at how we were playing better with Jermaine. At some point in time people have to get real. Jermaine and Jack are bad news together. One of them has to go. I'd like to see it be Jermaine, since the offense opens up without him...guys like Danger, Sarunas, Freddy....are at their best in the running game...even DH, can probably get up the floor quicker than most guys even close to his size.

*removed* Just keep politics and religion completely out of it, please.

Re: I hope JO is taking notes

Also, about the rebounding. A big part of it is having a real center in the game most of the time. Also, maybe I'm crazy, but Ricks seems to have finally let them pursure rebounds at the cost of transition D sometimes. They seemed to do this a lot in the Detroit game. Props to Rick.

I think you need a good balance between crashing the boards hard and getting back and stopping the fast break. Stopping the break is nice, but a team needs offensive boards. They re-energize everyone, and seem to set the tempo for a game.

Re: I hope JO is taking notes

Also, about the rebounding. A big part of it is having a real center in the game most of the time. Also, maybe I'm crazy, but Ricks seems to have finally let them pursure rebounds at the cost of transition D sometimes. They seemed to do this a lot in the Detroit game. Props to Rick.

I think you need a good balance between crashing the boards hard and getting back and stopping the fast break. Stopping the break is nice, but a team needs offensive boards. They re-energize everyone, and seem to set the tempo for a game.

I think this is a huge aspect of our rebounding advantage, and something that's possibly been overlooked. I think right now, unless we're playing a team like the Suns or Nets, we want an uptempo game. As a result, we'd rather play to our advantages with the offensive rebounds. If we get the board, we get another possession. If we don't the other team will likely try to push the ball ahead, which will lead to either a quick basket or a miss, leading to OUR transition basket. What I'm getting at, basically, is that transition leads to more transition, which is exactly what we want with no post threats in the lineup.

Right now we play like a college team with good guards and tall rebounding forwards. I hope it stays that way with JO in the lineup, but I'm not holding my breath.

Re: I hope JO is taking notes

Instead of being critical of JT and J.O and instead of making the mistake and assuming the Pacers are winning because those two playrers are out (interesting no one is saying the Pacers are winning because Cro is out) ...

JT and JO slow the ball movement. Cro does not. The ball is moving better now with the current lineup than it did when JT or JO were playing. Cro being in or out of the lineup does not appear to affect ball movement.

My comments were not critical of JT and JO...in fact I commented that they are good players....but from a chemisty standpoint perhaps they aren't the best thing for the Pacers.